Thermal control for flatirons and similar devices



L. REICHOLD Sept. 25, 1934.

THERMAL CQNTROL FOR FLATIRONS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Filed April 10. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 25, 1934. L. REICHOLD 1,974,997

THERMAL CONTROL FOR FLATIRONS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Filed April 10. 1931 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 25, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THERMAL CONTROL FOR FLATIRONS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Ludwig Reichold, Winsted, Conn., assignor to The Fitzgerald Manufacturing Company,

The present invention relates to a thermostatic control device for fiatirons and similar devices, which may be adjusted to regulate the working temperature of the device.

One of the features of the present invention is a simple and compact assembly of such a thermal control, which provides a neat, easily accessible and quickly adjustable control of the temperature at which the device works.

Another feature of the invention is a peculiar arrangement of parts, in combination with parts of the fiatiron or other device, so that the entire assembly is compact and yet well supported and of long life. v

Other features of the invention appear in the course of the following specification and claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings, which illustrate one form of embodiment of the invention as applied to a flatiron.

in these drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of 'a flatiron with the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the casing of the iron, showing the con- 25- trol elements in elevation.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the casing, showing the position of the control elements with the casing removed.

. Figure 4 is a sectional view substantially on 36? line a -c of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail view in section through the lever and k110i).

Figure l is a sectional view substantially on line 'F--'? of Figure 6.

The fiatiron comprises the shoe ill, the casing or cover ii, and the handle strap 12 terminating the usual heat-insulating handle 13. The protector or skirt 14 for the usual terminals is provided with a rearwardly and downwardly turned hook 15 which in conjunction with the strap 13 provides a support for the iron when in tilted position, whereby the iron may he left with the current on and yet with the shoe Ill out of contact with combustible material.

Within the casing 11 provided the heater element 17 which is held in position by the clamping plate 13 by the agency of the screw threaded member 19 passing through the heater element into the shoe 1o (Figs. 2 and 5). The rear of the clamping member is provided with an inclined surface 2c to receive the feet 23.

55 of the bridge piece 22 which insulatediy supports the terminal prongs 23 for the electrical connec-= tions, within the skirt 14.

The clamping member 18 also serves as a support for the elements of the thermal control device. For this purpose a groove 24 is provided in the clamping plate 18, preferably having an inclined lower wall 25 (Figure 4) and a table 26 at one end thereof. This table has two depressio ns therein to receive the insulating sleeves 2'7. Around these sleeves are successively threaded an insulating piece 28, a thermally actuated blade 29, a contact piece 30, a second insulating member 31, a switch blade 32, and a second contact terminal 33. Screws pass through the bushlugs and engage threadedly in the clamping member 10 and are provided with enlarged heads or washers which hold the third insulating piece 34 down against the ends of the sleeves 27 and thus maintain the blades 29, 32, in fixed position above the table 26, and in electrical engagement with their respective terminal pieces 30 and 33.

From the terminal prongs 23 a conductoriifi extends to the terminal member 33 and thus is in conductive electrical relation with the blade 32 (Figure 3). A conductor 3'? from the other terminal prong 23 passes to the heater element 17,

while a strip 33 extends from the other end of the heating element to the terminal piece so, thus establishing a possible electric circuit from one terminal prong 23. through the heater element, the blades 23, 32, to the other terminal prong 23.

An angle piece'39 is secured by screws 40 to the clamping member l3, and extends across the groove as (Fig. 3 On the upturned portion of this angle piece 39, a control lever 41 is mounted on a horizontal pivot 42 so that it may rock back and forth, preferably in the vertical longitudinal plane of the device (Figure 1). Below the pivot 42, the lever a1 is provided with an eccentric peripheral surface i3, constituting a cam, and in engagement with a metal wear-stud 44 which is insulatedly mounted on the upper blade 32. The casing ii and the handle strap 12 are slotted to provide a space for the reception of the concentrically curved upper portion of the lever 41. t the upper end of the lever 41 is provided a knob 45 of material which preferably is insulating with respect to both heat and electricity. The illustrated manner of assembling of the knob 45 is shown in Figures 6 and 7. The lever 41 has a pair or" upwardly extending spurs .7 having between their: a cross-shaped open-ended slot. These receives; part in the grooves 43 usual flexible conductors to a suitable source of. electricity. The current flows through the aforesaid'circuit, and causes a heating of the heating element 17 and therewith of the shoe 10 and the clamping plate 18. This heat is therefore immediately transmitted within the casing 18 to the thermally actuated blade 29, and the latter tends to bend so thatits free end moves downward'and away from the upper blade 32 until ultimately the contacts at the ends of these members are separated, and the circuit is broken. The degree of bending of the blade 29 depends upon the degree .of heating of the element 1'7. The positionof the upper blade 32 and its contact may be adjusted.

by movement of the knob 45: and to assist the operator in determining the temperature, it is preferred to provide a plate 60 having thereon legends, in known manner, to indicate heat and low. This plate 60 is held in position by the screws 61 which pass downward through the handle strap 12 and the casing 11 into the clamping member 18 and into the threaded sleeve 62 which is also engaged with one threaded piece 19, so that all parts of thedevice are rigidly assembled together. I

With the present arrangement of the structures, it will be noted that the clamping plate of the flatiron serves as a support for the various parts of the thermal control switch, and that these parts are located adjacent the center of 1 area of the iron, and hence respond to the temperature of the iron. Further, the blades are located in an oblique direction near the middle of the length of the iron so that a maximum length of blade can be employed having due regard for the desirability of passing securing members 61 through the handle strap along the central longitudinal vertical'plane of the iron. With this arrangement, furthermore, the control lever isl'ocated'in a protected position within the handle strap and handle. The connections from the terminal prongs to the heating element and the blades are maintained at a minimum and the parts are secured in insulated position with respect to one another.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the form of construction shown, nor to the specific employment with a fiatiron: but that it may be modified and employed in many ways within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:.-

1. The combination with a flatiron having a shoe, a heater element, a clamping plate'for holding the heater element against the shoe, a casing enclosing the said element and plate, longitudinally spaced means for clamping said shoe, element, plate and casing together, a thermally actuated control blade having a contact thereon and a movable contact blade cooperating with said control blade contact, of an operating handle located centrally of the iron and extending through said casing and mounted on said clamping plate on an'axis transverse to the length of the fiatiron, insulating and securing members for fixedly holding one end of said blades on said clamping plate, said clamping plate having an obliquely directed groove extending across the central vertical longitudinal plane of the iron between said clamping. means for receiving said blades with said contact at one side of said axis and said securing members at the other side, and a cam on said handle for cooperation with said movable blade.

Q2. The combination with a flatiron having a shoe, a heater element, a clamping plate for holding the heater element against the shoe, a casing enclosing the said element and plate, a handle including a strap extending close to and parallel with the top of said casing, longitudinally spaced means for clamping said shoe, element, plate, strap, and easing together, a thermally actuated control blade having a contact thereon and a movable contact blade cooperating with said con-,- trol blade contact, of an'operating handle located in the central vertical longitudinal plane of the iron and extending through said casing and strap and mounted on said clamping plate on an axis transverse to the length of the flatiron, insulating and securing members for fixedly holding one end of said blades on said clamping plate, said clamping plate having an obliquely directed groove extending across the centralvertical longitudinal plane of the iron between said clamping means for receiving said blades with said contact at one side of said axis and said securing members at the other side, and a cam on said handle cooperating directly with said movable blade.

1 LUDWIG REICHOLD. 

